Daniel Levy, former advisor to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office and member of the official Israeli negotiating team at the Oslo B and Taba talks, offered several incisive post-election observations on the prospects for resumed Israeli-Palestinian negotiations at a talk at the New America Foundation on April 7, 2006. He outlined three possible routes an Israeli government, led by likely Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, could pursue in reaction to the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority.

Levy argued that one option, that of conflict escalation -- pursued by instigating a Palestinian constitutional crisis that would undermine the Hamas government -- would backfire and jeopardize Israeli security interests. Levy argued that another option, that of conflict management, or maintaining the status quo through unilateralism, would more than likely continue to strengthen the extremists on both sides rather than provide a sustainable solution. The final option outlined by Levy, that of conflict reduction, would involve a resumption of negotiations to be facilitated and bridged by a third-party, such as the United States.

With cautious optimism, Levy described a political landscape where -- based on the most recent polling data -- the majority of Palestinians and Israelis favor resuming final status negotiations with express preference for negotiations over unilateralism.

Levy maintained that Israel has a stake in preventing the collapse of the Hamas government and staving off the subsequent violence that would eventually spillover from the Occupied Territories. Levy argued that this course would give the Hamas-led Palestinian government a free-pass to blame the U.S. and Israel for potential failings, and that it's therefore in Israel's best interest to allow Hamas to face the difficult test of successful popular governance.

Intervening to deliberately undermine Hamas would not serve American and Israeli interests, Levy concluded. Rather than choosing between the poles of isolating or embracing Hamas, he encouraged Israel to "split the difference" and seek out a strategy, in step with public demand, to negotiate with the Palestinians. -Sameer Lalwani